rein
Americannoun
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reins
plural
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Often a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit.
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any of certain other straps or thongs forming part of a harness, as a checkrein.
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any means of curbing, controlling, or directing; check; restraint.
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reins, the controlling or directing power.
the reins of government.
verb (used with object)
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reins,
present (3rd person singular)
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reined,
past participle, past
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reining
present participle
verb (used without object)
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reins,
present (3rd person singular)
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reined,
past participle, past
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reining
present participle
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to obey the reins.
a horse that reins well.
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to rein a horse or other animal.
idioms
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give rein to, to give complete freedom to; indulge freely: Also give free rein to, give full rein to.
to give rein to one's imagination.
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draw rein, to curtail one's speed or progress; halt.
The rider saw the snake and drew rein sharply.
noun
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(often plural) one of a pair of long straps, usually connected together and made of leather, used to control a horse, running from the side of the bit or the headstall to the hand of the rider, driver, or trainer
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a similar device used to control a very young child
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any form or means of control
to take up the reins of government
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the direction in which a rider turns (in phrases such as on a left ( or right ) rein , change the rein )
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something that restrains, controls, or guides
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to allow considerable freedom; remove restraints
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to control carefully; limit
we have to keep a tight rein on expenditure
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with the reins held loosely so that the horse is relatively unconstrained
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to take up the reins so that the distance between hand and bit is lessened, in order that the horse may be more collected
verb
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(tr) to check, restrain, hold back, or halt with or as if with reins
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to control or guide (a horse) with a rein or reins
they reined left
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reinsimple
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reinssimple
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have reinedperfect
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has reinedperfect
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am reiningprogressive
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are reiningprogressive
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is reiningprogressive
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have been reiningperfect progressive
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has been reiningperfect progressive
Past
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reinedsimple
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had reinedperfect
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was reiningprogressive
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were reiningprogressive
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had been reiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rein
1300–50; (noun) Middle English rene, reine, raine < Old French re ( s ) ne < Vulgar Latin *retina, noun derivative of Latin retinēre to hold back, retain; (v.) Middle English rainen, reinen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Rein is both a noun and a verb for guiding and restraining. You can use the long strap, or rein, on a horse to control its speed and direction, and you can rein in your own tongue by closing your mouth. Rein rhymes with rain but the two words describe very different things. Rain comes down all over the place, uncontrolled, while a rein holds things in place or controls what comes out. As a noun, rein is often used as a plural word "reins" when talking about actual leather restraints used in horse riding, but a rein also is something non-physical like when you put a rein on spending by shopping less.
Vocabulary lists containing rein
30 GRE Words Beginning with "Q" "R" and "S"
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Obstacle Course Vocabulary
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The Sound and the Fury
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I would join those who are there to survive and make things better and rein in the bad stuff.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Businesses are now investing in the technology even as they adjust to new U.S. tariffs and surging fuel prices, in part because they are looking to rein in costs, logistics experts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
It isn’t yet entirely clear who regulates prediction markets and how, and markets have regularly clashed with state officials trying to rein them in.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
In 2024, changes were made to rein in ballooning costs – overseen by Shorten who had coincidentally returned as the Minister for NDIS.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The Lady Salmakia flicked the rein, and her dragonfly skimmed away from Lyra’s shoulder to land on the gunwale of the boat, where Tialys joined her.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Kieran McKenna's decision to step down as manager was a shock after taking back into the top flight, so now it is up to Gary O'Neil to pick up the reins.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Okuda took the reins of the struggling firm in 1995 as the first person from outside the founding family in decades, and pushed innovative products such as the RAV4 and Prius.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Any talk of changing the rules, salary cap or otherwise, to put reins on this kind of success would propagate underperformance and penalize this fascinating culture of constant improvement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Starting Aug. 4, I’ll be in your inbox every Tuesday as I officially take the reins as Don’t Short Yourself’s regular writer.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Akira cried, yanking on Dodger’s reins and spurring him away from the fire.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
At the same time, the performance of the cars is also kept under consideration, and when rules change, this tends to be reined in a little, to ensure speeds do not get out of balance.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
That debate would have triggered a discussion about the cost of runaway benefits, which would have reined in the size of benefit checks long ago.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026
Charlie Collier, president of Roku Media, and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Dan Jedda, who joined in 2022 and 2023, respectively, have reined in wasteful spending and shifted toward areas with bigger returns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Medvedev, who warmed up for Melbourne by winning the Brisbane title, reined in his emotions and got one break back, but Marozsan sealed the second set.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
The next morning, a sleek merchant on a grey mare reined up by Yoren and offered to buy his wagons and everything in them for a quarter of their worth.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Big Tech reining in its AI spending may be a tantalizing prospect for some.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The central bank has had to shift its focus to reining in another surge in inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
The backdrop of turmoil in the Gulf and a global bond market rout has led to a reining in of Burnham's plans for reform in this area at this time.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Roy, for her part, would invite City Controller Kenneth Mejia to conduct a “liability audit” of the city attorney’s office, to find ways of reining in payouts.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The tone of his voice was curiously flat, as if he were reining himself in.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
